Local News

Editor's note: This story was updated from a previous version. WATSONVILLE—A fire at an apartment complex on Clifford Avenue late Christmas Eve displaced 20 people and severely damaged four adjoining units, Watsonville Fire Battalion Chief Kirt Vojvoda said. According to Vojvoda, the blaze began at about...

Last night I went by Jack’s Burgers in downtown Santa Cruz to grab a bag of take-out burgers and fries. In the line in front of me was a tall fellow fully decked out in a Christmas suit, like nothing I’ve come close to...

WATSONVILLE—A little more than a year ago, Perla Pineda said she had a thought in the back of her mind that would not let her get a good night’s rest. “I felt like something else was calling me,” she said. She remembers waking up in the...

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—Second Harvest Food Bank has been facing an unprecedented amount of need throughout the county since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in March. They have more than doubled their weekly donations, averaging about 1.2 million pounds per month in distribution. The Holiday Food...

WATSONVILLE—Dec. 16 marked the final meeting for Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Karen Osmundson, who served on the board since 2004. During a meeting on Dec. 9, Osmundson received resolutions from California Assemblymember Robert Rivas, as well as the Watsonville City Council and the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congress on Monday approved a $900 billion, 5,000-page federal package that could be a boon to California, which like all other states is struggling under the weight of an economy wracked by the Covid-19 pandemic. If signed by President Donald Trump, it will provides...

WATSONVILLE—The City of Watsonville is cracking down on unpermitted food trucks and weighing whether to rework its rules regarding the mobile food vendors in the coming year. The City Manager’s office has received numerous complaints about food trucks from several brick-and-mortar restaurant owners over the...

Since 1991, Sister Rosa Dolores Rodriguez has led an effort to bring holiday cheer to families in need at Casa de la Cultura in Pajaro, where she serves as Executive Director. The organization’s annual Food and Gift Christmas Giveaway invites children to sign up prior...

President Trump is on another pardon spree for a bunch of people facing various jail sentences and other punishments. So far he has let a load of folks off the hook that lied and even admitted lying to officials, especially during the Mueller investigation...

WATSONVILLE–A man whose passenger was seriously injured in a reckless driving incident late November—and who fled the scene after it happened—was arrested Tuesday on a $1 million warrant, California Highway Patrol Officer Sam Courtney said. Randy Dale Sanders, 58, was charged with reckless driving causing...